Keppel income up 51% in first nine months

KEPPEL Philippines Marine, Inc., the country’s largest shipyard operator, reported turning in P40.102 million for the first nine months of the year, up 51% from P26.625 million in 2002.

For the third quarter alone, net earnings grew 36% to P12.944 million, a turnaround from the previous loss of P9.463 million. Production revenues for the period leaped 17.8% from P600.089 million to P706.920 million. For the third quarter, the total revenue generated was P210.321 million or 31.97% above the P159.365 generated during the same period last year.

From January to September, operating profit jumped 127.39% from P17.056 million to P38.783 million.

The third-quarter results were better than expected as the quarter is traditionally considered off-peak season due to harsh weather conditions, Keppel Marine said.

Keppel Marine said it is optimistic targets will be reached by year-end. However, no commitments for capital expenditures, except for the routinary repairs of existing assets, were disclosed.